Photograph albums are known, comprising a main book body provided with a plurality of pages made of stiff or semi-stiff cardboard on each of which a photograph has been previously printed, or alternatively a photograph or a print is subsequently associated.
A substantially stiff cover is associated to the book body and comprises a first external sheet, also called front plate in bookbinding, formed by the front cover and the inside front cover which, in the closed condition, covers the first page of the book body, a second external sheet, also called back plate in bookbinding, formed by the inside back cover and the back cover, associated with the last page of the book body and a central spine, substantially free, which provides only to reciprocally connect the first external sheet and the second external sheet. The spine of the cover can either be made in a material as stiff as the first and the second sheet (square spine) or more flexible with respect to the first and the second sheet (round spine) and when this second form of embodiment is used, it can have a rounded shape around the thickness of the book body.
If the album is bound with a square spine, given that the book block is formed by coupled pages, the total opening of the volume is not optimal both from an esthetic viewpoint and because the album itself deteriorates rapidly, in that the forces at play, proportional to the thickness of the album, cause bulgings which emerge in proximity to the center line of the book body as the thickness of the book block increases.
Because of these problems this type of solution can be used only on book blocks with a limited thickness.
If the album is bound with a rounded spine, the central spine which is flexible and rounded, once the book body is associated to the cover, allows to easily turn its pages, preventing bulging in proximity to the center line of the book body. The first and the last coupled four page folder are therefore shorter than the central four page folder, while all the others have a proportional length able to obtain the rounded shape of the spine. On the other hand, if the book block has a square spine and a rounded cover, there is a rapid deterioration of the spine, as well as esthetic problems.
The pages of the book body are reciprocally associated with respect to each other in contiguous pairs so that, in any condition of the book body being open, the two faces are substantially flat and defined by a single sheet on which a photograph can be previously printed. In the same way, the opposite faces of the two pages considered are part of a sheet that defines the previous and respectively successive page of the two pages considered.
The pages thus associated do not therefore need further binding operations inasmuch as they are already reciprocally joined.
One disadvantage of known photograph albums is that the spine of the cover must be made differently from the first and second page so that it can assume a curved configuration which allows to leaf through the pages avoiding problems of bulging in the center line of the book body.
Another disadvantage is that, when the pages are leafed through, the spine of the cover is deformed, causing a rapid deterioration thereof until it becomes detached from the first and second sheet of the cover.
A paperback book is also known, from document CH-A-365.702, provided with a strip of flexible and resistant material with a length equal to the height of the paperback part, and with a median part glued on the spine of the paperback part, a flyleaf glued on the entire external surface of the strip, a sheet glued inside each half of the flyleaf and on the part of the flexible strip exceeding the spine of the whole, and a cover, made in a single piece, glued only on the part of the lower half of the flyleaf glued on the flexible strip. This solution can also suffer possible deformations of the spine, and does not allow to open the book at 180° in planar fashion without damaging stresses to the material.
Purpose of the present invention is to obtain a photograph album with a square spine that has different esthetic and functional characteristics from the usual products on the market, which is easy to make, which opens in planar fashion, or flat, at 180°, and possibly even more, without triggering forces that would deteriorate the album, which represents an innovation with respect to the opening of a traditional album, which has an extended duration over time even after repeated uses, which allows innovation in terms of the product with respect to what is currently present on the market of photograph albums.
The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.